Ari,

I replaced all my standing and running rigging last year, so may be able to help you a little.

I can't see any reason why you couldn't replace with all rope. You will probably need to replace the sheaves at the top of the mast. Mine were shot anyway, and with some googling, you should be able to find some with similar dimensions.

I chose to stick with wire-rope, as it stretches less than even the most hi-tech spectra-fancy lines. Doing the wire-rope splice took only a few hours with a fid while watching a movie. It was surprisingly easy, cheap, and a great thing to show off next time you have friends aboard. I used the instructions in Brian Toss's rigging book, but you'll find them online too.

As far as dimensions go, just use the old ones as the template. I believe the mast is about 26' tall, so you'd probably want the wire part to be an inch or two more than that.... the splice should be before the raised halyard reaches any winches, clutches, cleats etc.

Hope that helps.

J